BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 6. Makhtar Diop, Managing Director of the International Finance Corporation (IFC), unveiled two significant agreements aimed at accelerating the Romania’s shift towards sustainability, fostering financial accessibility, and driving sustainable economic growth, Trend reports via IFC.
IFC has forged a strategic partnership with BRD Groupe Societe Generale, a leading Romanian bank, to execute a groundbreaking synthetic significant risk transfer (SRT) transaction. Under this agreement, IFC will provide a risk guarantee for BRD's portfolio of small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) and corporate loans, amounting to up to €700 million. The capital liberated through this SRT, a pioneering initiative for both IFC and BRD in Romania, will empower the bank to allocate up to €315 million towards financing climate-related projects and supporting women-owned SMEs.
Furthermore, IFC is extending a green loan of approximately €300 million to Warehouses De Pauw NV (WDP), a Belgian real estate investment trust, to expand its collection of green, energy-efficient semi-industrial and logistics assets throughout Romania. This financing includes sustainability-linked provisions, incentivizing WDP to bolster its environmental efforts by increasing the proportion of EDGE (Excellence in Design for Greater Efficiencies) certified properties and expanding rooftop solar panel capacity in Romania.
The loan comprises €150 million from IFC's own resources, with the remainder mobilized from investors, including Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation. IFC has also assisted WDP in crafting its maiden sustainability-linked loan under a novel energy savings and emissions reduction framework.
Romania represents IFC's largest country exposure in Europe, with a portfolio of $2.1 billion, and its 10th largest globally with over $7 billion invested across sectors since 1991. IFC's commitments this fiscal year currently amount to a record $1.5 billion, including $1.1 billion in mobilization, complemented by targeted advisory support to spur the green transition.
Romania stands as IFC's most substantial country exposure in Europe, with a portfolio totaling $2.1 billion, and ranks as its 10th largest globally, with investments exceeding $7 billion across various sectors since 1991. In the current fiscal year, IFC's commitments have soared to a record $1.5 billion, complemented by $1.1 billion in mobilization, alongside targeted advisory assistance to galvanize the green transition.
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